This invention relates to a data transmitting and receiving system which can upload data recorded on a recording medium loaded on the client side from the recording medium to the server side and can download audio data and so forth from the server side to the recording medium.
As a recording medium which allows recording and playback, a magneto-optical disc called a mini disc (trademark) which is a recording medium in the form of a disc of a diameter of approximately 64 mm accommodated in a cartridge is known.
The magneto-optical disc allows recording thereon of audio data for approximately 74 minutes in stereo using an adaptive transform acoustic coding system (ATRAC) as an audio compression system.
The magneto-optical disc can be carried outdoors readily since it is small in size and easy to carry. Further, since the magneto-optical disc is different from a conventional digital audio disc called a compact disc (trademark) in that it allows recording thereon, it allows duplication of audio data thereof.
By the way, in order to record audio data compressed to approximately one fifth (⅕) onto a magneto-optical disc, an audio server system may be constructed such that the compressed audio data are stored as they are into the server side, and the data are transmitted to the client side without intervention of any decoder or any encoder for the compression processing so that they may be downloaded onto a magneto-optical disc loaded on the client side.
In the audio server system, since compressed data are recorded as they are without being decompressed, the time required for recording can be reduced comparing with that for recording where compression processing is performed after decompression processing is performed.
If the audio server system is constructed such that a magneto-optical disc carried in by a user can be loaded into it and one program or a plurality of programs recorded as audio data in the server can be duplicated onto the magneto-optical disc, then new sales/service forms of musical programs or the like different from those of package media such as a CD (compact disc) can be realized.
However, musical contents provided by such an audio server system as described above are provided one-sidedly from a record company, and common users are in a passive situation.
Some of common users which make use of such an audio server system as described above possibly have a music writing or lyric writing ability, and provision for such people with a place where such an ability can be made public or sold will provide an opportunity of self-appealing.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a data transmitting and receiving system which allows a common user to act beyond a position in which the user merely receives information provided by the system.
In order to attain the object described above, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transmitting and receiving system connected to an information center for transmitting and receiving data to and from the information center, comprising loading means into which a recording medium on which content data produced by a user are recorded can be loaded, playback means for playing back the content data produced by the user and stored on the recording medium, transmission means for transmitting the content data played back by the playback means and management information regarding the content data, selection means for selecting desired data from a large capacity storage in the information center, reception means for receiving the desired data selected by the selection means and the management information of the desired data transmitted thereto from the information center, and recording means for recording the data and the management information received by the reception means and recording the received data and management information onto the recording medium loaded in the loading means.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information center having at least one terminal equipment connected thereto for communicating data with the terminal equipment, comprising memory means for storing a plurality of content data therein, transmission means for adding, to that one of the content data stored in the memory means which is selected by the terminal equipment side, management information for the one content data and transmitting the resulting data to the terminal equipment, and reception means for receiving content data and management information regarding the content data produced on and transmitted from the terminal equipment side, and wherein the content data are arranged based on the management information received by the reception means and stored into the memory means.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts or are elements are denoted by like reference symbols.